1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a boot process of a computer system, and in particular to a technology used for speeding up loading an operating system.
2. Description of the Related Art
A computer system, generally comprising a processor, a memory and a hard disk, is usually managed by a basic input/output system (BIOS). An operating system loaded to the computer system brings the functions of the computer system into full play. There are several phases in the boot process of the computer system: the BIOS initiates the components of the computer system one by one, and then activates a boot loader in the hard disk or activates the operating system directly. Since there are lots of components in the computer system, it may take 10-16 seconds to initiate all the components one by one. According to the specification of the BIOS (or the boot loader), the computer system may read the operating system, which will be executed by the processor, from the hard disk. However, this reading process also takes a lot of time (for example, 40 seconds to 1 minute). But in fact, not all of the components are necessary for the loading of the operating system. Therefore, there exists a booting method which activates the operating system much more quickly.